Red Dragons
by Mell8
Summary: Edited! AU, post HBP: Draco was conscripted by a Muggle gang while on the run from the Order. Ten years later he's the most powerful person on the streets. Ginny shows up searching for her daughter and Draco can help, but at what cost? DG
1. Chapter 1

Red Dragons

Chapter One

By Mell8

--------------------

A.N.

Previously titled _Dragon's Strike, Red's Salvation_. I decided the old title was too long and found something a bit better.

I've completely edited this story! It has always been one of my favorites, but since I wrote it so long ago there were a lot of amateurish issues that needed to be fixed; things like wrong homophones, basic grammar issues, and punctuation mistakes around speech were all terribly, horribly wrong.

I haven't overhauled the plot because I like it so much, so if you've read this story before you'll recognize a lot. I just cleaned it up quite a bit and I finally decided to break it up into chapters, rather than leave it as a one shot.

I hope you all enjoy!

Mell8

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Present:

"Hey, D-man. Wha'dya sugge'st?" Draco curled his lip, looked down at the bruised boy crouching at his feet, and brushed a lock of white blond hair out of his face. "Ay mean, we're gettin' trashed!"

Draco surveyed the wreckage in front of him and let a cold smile slide onto his face. "Not for long," he murmured and the boy laughed.

They were in an old abandoned warehouse, their headquarters, and the fight was nearly over. Injured bodies littered the ground and the last combatants were letting their fists fly in bloody arcs. Nearly ten of the Poison Adders were still standing while the Dragons were nearly decimated. Only Draco and their leader, affectionately named Blade owing to his skill with sharp weapons, were still standing.

Usually gang fights were one-on-one battles fought in the back alleys of the city. This fight was different in the fact that nearly thirty of the Adders had snuck into Dragon territory and had ambushed a strategy meeting. Draco was used to gang battles starting with small bloody attacks of unknown origin that slowly escalated into an all out fight like this one. No one was expecting the Adders to show up tonight so the Dragons had been horribly unprepared.

Blade was taking on three Adders in the center of the warehouse. His long knives were in his hands and every time he moved another slash opened on a body of the enemy.

Blade was doing well against his opponents but there was no way the man could defeat the ten waiting Adders with all of the injuries he had sustained. If all the Dragons lost, the Adders would take their territory and the Dragons would be disgraced as a fighting gang.

Draco carefully placed his bag next to the injured boy before moving into position.

"Watch this for me," he said with a glare at the boy. His wand and the other magical items that Draco had managed to hold onto all these years were hidden in the bag. The boy knew not to open it as the last person who had peaked into Draco's belongings had mysteriously disappeared. That was more than enough deterrent against anyone opening Draco's bag. Besides, he did not need his wand for an easy fight like this.

"Blade!" Draco called with a smirk on his face. "Do you want me to take out the rest for you?"

Blade took a second to glance away from his fight to look at Draco. "Do what you want, Dragon," Blade grinned. "Just leave them alive this time."

Draco sighed and nodded. He kept walking into the middle of the fray until one of the uninjured Adders noticed.

"Where 'dya think yer off ta, punk?" The man was a good head taller than Draco and easily outweighed the blond in muscle mass. Draco just smirked. The man snarled. "I'm gonna erase tha' smug look off ya face!" His meaty fist swung up from his side into Draco's stomach. The blond did not try to avoid the hit.

Draco was pushed back half a step but his face never flinched. He lifted an eyebrow at the man.

"Shall I show you why I'm called the Dragon's Strike?" Draco hissed. The man sneered and lifted his fist again.

This time as the fist came down, Draco slid to the side. When the brute was unbalanced he punched him in the back of the neck. He went down into an unconscious lump on the floor joining the rest of the offal of bodies. Draco turned and ducked under the foot of his next opponent who had snuck up on the blond. Draco finished him with one deadly stroke.

The rest of the fight became a blur of bodies and fists and dodging weak attempts at taking down the Dragon's Strike. All too soon Draco was standing alone in a circle of moaning Adder's.

He panted for breath and assessed his injuries. He had one bruise on his shoulder that might freeze the muscle if another fight happened before it had a chance to heal and a small knife slash on his forearm that would need stitches. Otherwise the fight had been painless and far too easy. He was barely even winded.

"Ah, my handsome Dragon! Yet again you have come to rescue of the Dragons." Blade came over from his own circle of downed bodies and clapped Draco on the back. "You make me gladder after every fight that I decided to allow you to live."

Draco sneered. "I could have killed you then, I can kill you now."

Blade laughed and turned away from Draco to the small group of conscious Dragons who were slowly standing despite the fact their injuries must make every move painful.

"My dear Dragon's Strike, you would be nothing, _nothing_, without me. I know this, you know this, and because of this you will never betray my trust."

Draco laughed quietly. If Blade knew exactly who and what Draco was, the leader of the Dragon gang would be afraid of him. He was Draco Malfoy, the most wanted Death Eater in the world for the murder of Albus Dumbledore and a fully capable Wizard in his own right, and if any of the Muggles he currently ran with found out…well, it would not be pretty.

"Besides," Blade looked over his shoulder with a smirk on his face, "whomever you're hiding from can't find you as long as you're under my protection." He saw Draco's look of fury and laughed.

III

"Report Jonnie! I want to know exactly how the Poison Adders where not only able to find our training headquarters but were able to bring a force that big, unnoticed, into our territory." Blade was sitting back in his chair, slouched down as if he were completely at ease, but Draco could see the contained fury in Blades' otherwise casual stance.

Jonnie was on his knees in front of his leader. There was blood running out of his smashed nose and his face was swelling quickly. He looked around the room furtively as if looking for an answer or for help from his comrades. Nothing was forthcoming.

Draco already knew the answer; he had walked past Jonnie at his watch station right before the attack and the idiot had been sleeping the deep sleep of a drunkard. Blade had sighed in resignation when Draco told him. Now they were waiting to see if Jonnie would tell the truth.

His brown eyes lighted on Draco and Draco could almost see his thinking process as an idea formed. Draco was leaning against the dirty wall drinking piss poor beer in the dirty back room of a bar in a back alley in Dragon territory. How, Draco mused, had he fallen so low? He had been the richest man in the Wizarding World and now he was a guttersnipe.

"Dragon did it! I saw 'im!" Jonnie pointed towards Draco with a shaking hand. "He was doin' his rounds, ya know, an' when dem Adders started sneakin' in I saw 'im turn away. When I tried ta sound da 'larm he come up be'hind me and 'it me."

"Really," Blade said with a quiet smile. "Dragon, what do you have to say about this accusation?"

Draco slowly put his beer down on a grimy table and stalked over to Jonnie. He gently stroked the boy's cheek before suddenly gripping him around the neck. With that one hand Draco lifted Jonnie up off the ground.

"I believe he is lying, Blade," Draco crooned darkly. His face was the blank mask he used to keep all of his feelings from showing. His ice gray eyes were cold and emotionless. Slowly Draco began to squeeze his fingers around Jonnie's neck until the boy was struggling in his grasp and gasping for breath. "Maybe he would like to reform his previous statement," Draco added and a small smile lit his face, making everyone in the room shiver in fear.

"Mayhap," Blade said with an unconcerned shrug. He was used to Draco's odd moments and understood the blonde's various flashes of insanity. "Strangely, I think you might need to put him down before that can happen."

Draco laughed and let the murderous facial expression he had learned while a Death Eater slide onto his face as he leisurely lowered the quivering boy back down to the ground. His arm had never started shaking from strain like a normal Muggles' would have.

That was something he had learned soon after entering the Muggle world. For some reason he was physically stronger than an average Muggle. It was like the difference in muscle between a female and a male. In general, if a woman worked really hard she could become as strong as a strong man the same way that a Muggle who worked out could become as strong as Draco.

He wondered if it was because he was a pureblooded wizard. Draco had never gotten in any physical fights while in Hogwarts; everything had been about magic, especially duels. He did not know if he was stronger than a mudblood or half-blood as he had never tested it. It could also be because of a spell or potion his father had foisted upon him during his youth. Draco could not be sure. All he knew was that this specific advantage was the only reason he was still alive.

III

Past:

All he really remembered of that last horrible night was following Professor Snape out of the castle and across the grounds. The ghastly Dark Mark hung low in the sky, coloring everything in a sickly green light as Draco stumbled down the lawn.

"Listen, Draco. When you get to the Forest you will be out of the wards. Apparate somewhere safe."

Draco glanced back at Snape, horror in his eyes, but the greasy haired man was busy taunting Potter. Clearly Snape did not know that Draco had never learned to apparate. He knew the logistics of it, destination, determination, and deliberation, but had been too pre-occupied with fixing the vanishing cabinet and worrying about his mission to really pay attention in his lessons.

He ran into the tree line and saw, with a hint of panic, Snape disapparate. Therefore, it was up to himself to get somewhere safe.

He tried picturing that damned hoop in his bedroom at home, and then he tried focusing on his mother's face. He opened his eyes again only to see trees and saw, to his horror, that Aurors were beginning to enter the woods to search for him.

He took a quick step forward—if he could not apparate he could always run—and looked over his shoulder to see which direction would be safest. His foot slipped over a wet root and he twisted as he fell. Suddenly Draco was hurtling through blackness, squeezing, airless, blackness. From far away he felt his body hit the ground before everything went dark.


	2. Chapter 2

Red Dragons

Chapter Two

By Mell8

----------------------

Present:

"I din't mean it! I swear!"

Draco blinked and came back to the present. Jonnie was prostrating himself on the ground in front of Blade's chair.

"It was an acc'dent! Please, please, fo'give me!"

Blade ignored the pleas and bent forward in his seat. Slowly, almost reverently, Blade gripped Jonnie's ear and pulled. The Dragon earring, the symbol that showed a person was a member of the Dragon gang, slid through the fleshy part of Jonnie's ear with deceptive ease. It came free with a splash of blood and Jonnie screamed.

"You have been warned before about indulging in drink while on duty. This time your negligence caused an ambush. You have your life, I suggest you run with it."

Jonnie gasped and ran out the door.

"I want the watch doubled for the next week. No one moves through Dragon territory without our knowledge. I want groups in Adder territory as well. I want all of the dirty snakes eradicated and I am claiming their territory for the Dragons. Rip down their gang signs and paint over their graffiti." With amazing alacrity the gang members rushed out the door. Only Draco stayed behind.

Blade stood up and sighed. "I really hate doing that," he grumbled as he put the bloodied earring into his pocket. "But the boy had it coming."

Blade reached out and stroked Draco's left ear with fingers that still had blood on them. Draco had seven earrings in that ear but the main one was the dragon symbol. As long as he wore it Draco was a part of the Dragons. Blade knew that if Draco ever showed up without the earring, Draco had renounced the gang. It was an unspoken agreement between them that Draco could leave at his own discretion. Blade understood that Draco had people in his past that he might need to run from and binding ties to the gang could get the blond killed.

The other six piercings in that ear and the three in his other meant nothing to the rest of the Dragons but to Draco they were unbelievably important. Draco was keeping count; one earring for each year of hiding. It had been nine years since he had aided in killing Dumbledore and had escaped both the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters. Nine long years working and living as a Dragon under Blade's tender care.

Past:

When Draco woke he immediately realized that he was not alone and his wand was not in his hand.

"I think tha' bloke's 'bout ta wake up. Go an' tell tha boss."

Draco opened his eyes to see a dirty face right in his line of vision. He gasped and thrust the boy away before pushing himself to his feet and putting his back to the nearest wall. He cast about for his wand and paled when he saw it in the dirty boy's grubby hands.

"Give me that," Draco hissed as he straightened his spine and blinked the dried blood out of his eyelashes.

The boy, a Muggle, could see his precarious position as Draco snarled and lunged forward toward his stolen wand. Before he connected another pair of arms gripped his shoulders and pulled him backwards. Draco kicked behind him and felt the person grunt in pain. Soon there were three or four people jumping at Draco in an attempt to capture him.

When Blade got to the scene he was shocked. An unknown blond boy was taking on, and winning against, four of his fighters. Yet, Blade could see the amateur punching and kicking the boy used and knew that he was untrained. Blade let the fighting continue for another moment before wading into the fray. He caught up to the blond and gripped the front of his shirt in order to lift him off the ground.

The boy continued to hiss and struggle and Blade had to dodge a few well-placed kicks. After a few moments the boy seemed to realize that he had lost and sagged in Blade's grip.

"Are you going to behave?" Blade asked quietly. Draco looked down his nose at the offending Muggle before deflating and nodding his understanding that the strong man holding him effortlessly in the air had the upper hand. In quiet furry Draco began to pool his magical strength together. One blast of wandless magic would send these Muggle fools away.

Blade let go of the boy and let him drop back to the ground. He could see the dried blood on Draco's face and in the blonde's hair and wondered, for what would not be the last time, where the boy had come from.

"What do we have here?" Blade asked with quiet strength. "Report," he said to the dirty boys who were nursing their wounds after their battle with Draco.

"He was jus' 'ere Blade. We done our rounds like we supposed ta and we was coming back when we saw 'im lying on tha ground. When 'e woke up 'e attacked ole Freddy 'ere."

"Did he have any weapons?"

"All I found was this 'ere stick. 'e was clutching it in 'is 'and like 'twas gold."

The dirty rat handed over Draco's wand to Blade and, much to the man's amusement and curiosity, the unknown boy's eyes focused on the stick as if it were his lifeline.

"Well you are a piece of work," Blade said with a smile towards Draco. "You're wearing a school uniform which suggests that you come from somewhere with money. Who will ransom for your life?"

Draco glared at Blade and the leader was shocked to see that the boy was not afraid. Instead Blade could see his death reflected in those silver pools. The boy could only be about fifteen or sixteen but to have such a look on his face showed that he was not a stranger to murder and pain.

"No one will ransom for me," Draco hissed. His father was in hiding and Narcissa would never believe that her only son was held captive by Muggle brutes. Plus, Draco was supposed to be in hiding at a safe house. If the Ministry found out about his whereabouts because of a foolish ransom note his life would be forfeit.

Blade walked closer to Draco and gripped him by his green and silver Slytherin tie. He lowered his face into the blonde's and growled. "A pretty boy like you must have someone looking for you, especially with a snake emblem on your clothing. Who do you work for, the Cobras or the Poison Adders?"

"I have plenty of people looking for me," Draco spat. "None of them are friendly." He ignored the meaningless jibe about the Slytherin crest and continued to glare at Blade.

Blade laughed and let go of Draco's tie. "That's a good point." His eyes roamed over Draco again as if taking his measure. The boy was strong though untrained. If he joined, the Dragons would be even stronger.

"What's your name?" Blade asked quietly.

Draco turned his head away from Blade to glare at the wall. Names had power in the Magical world and Draco was not sure if it was safe to tell these street rats what his name was. Although this is the Muggle world, Draco thought. Who would be looking for me here?

Draco laughed emotionlessly and fixed his glare back on the leader. "My name is Draco."

Blade looked taken aback for a second before laughing. "Your name is Latin for Dragon!" He clutched his stomach and leaned against a wall for balance as his laughter increased. "The irony is too much. Alright you can join the Dragons." Blade wiped his eyes and sighed as he slowly stopped laughing.

The other rats gasped as if this was a profound announcement but Draco just looked confused.

"Come on then," Blade said as he threw an arm around Draco's shoulders. "Let's go get you something better to wear and I'll explain what you've gotten yourself into along the way."


	3. Chapter 3

Red Dragons

Chapter Three

By Mell8

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Present:

"Blade! Come quick!" Blade looked up from his coffee cup at one of his ruffians who had just run through the door of the coffee shop. Draco sighed and put down his own mug before levering himself to his feet.

"Do you want me to take care of it?" Draco asked quietly.

"Naw, I haven't done any real field work since the Adder fight," Blade said and stood up next to Draco. "I could use your backup though, just in case." Draco nodded and followed Blade over to the gang member.

"Report," Blade said as he looked down at the kid.

"We was patrolling the old Adder ter'tory an' we saw some Adders fightin' so we went to check. They was beatin' on a girl so we jumped in ta save 'er. An' now she's attackin' the Dragons. Like a Hell Cat or somethin'."

Blade laughed and followed the boy down the streets at a fast run. Draco followed at a slightly more sedate pace. He was only backup so all he had to do was watch and intervene if his help was needed. He settled himself on a fence above the fight and let Blade rush into the alley to save his Dragons from a Hell Cat.

The girl was doing well against four guards. Every time they caught one of her arms she would kick out and hit a stomach or a knee. Plus she was agile and could easily spin away from clutching hands.

Suddenly Blade was there and the girl was too late in her dodge. Blade clipped her in the back of the head and she collapsed. He caught her and hefted the girl over one shoulder before giving the signal Draco was waiting for. He would meet Blade at Headquarters in the bar.

Fifteen minutes later found Draco, Blade, the girl, and about twenty other Dragon members sitting in the bar. No one was drinking and the atmosphere was tense as they waited for the girl to wake.

She was a pretty little slip of a thing. Her long red hair had come loose of the bun she had severely tied it in and her black baggy clothes were rumpled enough to show a flat toned stomach and gentle curves.

She would make perfect bait for an innocent Dragon. One of the rival gangs could have sent her with the mission to seduce a Dragon and learn their secrets. No one idly wandered into any gang territory any more as it was too dangerous.

With a groan the girl slowly sat up and rubbed the back of her head. Then she caught site of her surroundings. She gasped and squeaked but quickly clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Who are you?" Blade snarled. The girl remained silent.

"Why are you in our territory? What is your mission?"

The girl kept her hand over her mouth and her eyes on the ground.

"All we found was this stick," Blade said holding up a long brown piece of wood. Draco and the girl gasped. "What do you make of it Dragon?" He tossed what Draco knew was a wand over the girl's head to Draco.

He caught it with ease and slid the wand into his ever-present backpack. The girl spun and Blade could see the fear in her eyes as the stick disappeared into Draco's clutches.

Then the girl caught sight of Draco. Her eyes bulged and her breath came faster. She lunged at Draco, claws unsheathed.

"You murderer! You killed him!" She landed on Draco and both went flying over a table onto the floor. Draco landed on his back and the girl landed on top of him beating her fists ineffectually into his chest. She continued screaming over the raucous laughter of the Dragons. It was rare to see the Dragon's Strike flattened so easily.

"…and my brother has scars, hideous scars, because you let them into the school!"

"Whoa, hey!" Draco gasped as he caught her fists and pushed her off him so he could sit normally. He looked at her carefully and his eyes caught on her frazzled red hair.

"Weasley?" he gasped.

She scowled. "You dirty murderer. I'll kill you for everything you've done."

"All I did was run," he snarled angrily. "I did not cast the curse, I was going to let him go. Then Snape came and ended it. When I was escaping I got lost and decided to stay lost. My mother is probably dead, my father is out killing innocent people and I have been in hiding for nearly ten years. How can you blame me for anything?"

She looked up at him and burst into tears. Draco sighed, gathered the shaking and violently protesting girl in his arms, and, without asking Blade, walked out of the room with her.

"She's mine to deal with," Draco snarled as his back disappeared from the room.

The rest of the gang looked after their Dragon in shock. He had never broken the unofficial laws that governed how a lesser member acted towards their leader. It could be considered an open act of war when a member as strong as the Dragon's Strike ignored the leader.

Blade started laughing quietly as he stood up and went to the bar for a drink. "I always knew his past would catch up with him. I just never thought it would be in such a cute package."

III

Past:

It was his first real fight as a Dragon and Draco was terrified. There was blood everywhere and people were screaming in both battle fury and pain. To Draco's left a boy he had trained with howled as his arm was broken.

Draco gulped. So far he had been lucky. By not jumping immediately into the fray he had avoided engaging in a personal battle of his own like the rest of the trainee Dragons. Instead he watched as the Dragons were destroyed.

This was a group comprised of young, untried members. They were told to defeat the enemy gang. Those who did well would be rewarded with higher positions in the gang and those who fought terribly would be thrown out. It was a cruel but necessary practice and Draco was failing miserably.

"Look at your protégé," Skull laughed at his second in command, Blade. "He's scared shitless; hasn't moved a fucking muscle the entire fucking fight. He's a god damn pussy."

Blade smiled coldly at his leader. "Wait for it sir," he said with full confidence. "Dragon is just waiting for the most opportune moment.

"The fucker's name ain't Dragon. My gang's named Dragon. Give the bloody boy another name."

Blade just smiled and leaned over the railing. "Dragon, Strike!" he roared.

Draco watched as everyone around him began to drop. The enemy gang was winning. He should just run now before he was killed.

"Dragon, Strike!" Draco looked up to see his teacher, Blade, glaring at him over the railing. Blade had taken so much time to train Draco. He would not have let his pupil go into battle if he had not been sure of Draco's strength.

Draco took a deep breath and dived in.

He beat one, then two, and three of the enemy and they just kept coming. Soon there was a mountain of downed bodies around Draco and he was covered in other people's blood.

He looked up and saw Blade finishing off the last of the other gang. Draco was one of the few junior members still standing. He was mostly uninjured but he was panting for breath. Blade walked over and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Well done Dragon." He smiled. "Welcome to the Dragons." Blade took the Dragon earring he had been given to show he had taken a trainee out of his right ear. Gently, in an almost reverent manner, Blade used that sharp earring to pierce his protégé's left ear. The blood of the battlefield was still dripping off his skin but now Draco had a Dragon earring throbbing in his ear lobe. Draco had officially joined the Dragons.

III

"You shoulda' 'eard it. Blade yelled Dragon Strike an' Dragon attacked. 'e was so powerful. I'm thinkin' we should call 'im Dragon Strike from now on."

Draco tried hard not to preen under the admiration but he could not help overhearing his new name: Dragon Strike, the Dragon's Strike. It was a strong name and it showed how powerful his new position in the gang was. Admittedly his station had not changed much. He had gone from Blade's trainee to Blade's errand boy but it was a far higher position than most of the new boys received. Draco shuddered at the thought of being a liaison between gangs. That job had a mortality rate of ninety percent.

A tankard of beer thumped down on the table in front of Draco. "Drink up Dragon," Blade smirked. "I'm going to be working you hard tomorrow."

Weeks and months passed without Draco's notice. Soon he realized that a year had gone by and then another year. Soon it seemed that he had never had another life outside the Dragons.

He was still running errands for Blade but it was an easy job. Most of the time Draco was able to rest and recuperate after the last battle. There were other youngsters able to do the straightforward jobs. The only thing Draco had to do was bring information from Blade to Skull.

He was on one such errand at the moment but was dreading it terribly. Every time he spoke with Skull, Draco always felt dirty afterwards. The man was a disgusting example of Muggle kind with a crude mouth and uncouth manners, and Skull hated Draco.

Draco stepped up to the office door and hesitated before knocking. He took a deep breath and lifted his fist but stopped short when he heard voices.

"I don't fucking care about the bastard's position in my gang. I want the fucker eliminated, him and his little pretty-boy fuck-buddy."

"But Sir! Tha Dragon Strike's tha best thing ta ever 'appen ta tha Dragons. An' Blade's saved owr asses too many times ta count. Ya really don' wanna kill em off, do ya?"

There was a smacking sound of flesh connecting with flesh but Draco did not hear it. He was too busy slowly backing away from the door.

"Don't worry your fucking pussy brain about it. Their deaths will never be connected to our asses. I got another gang out for Blade's blood. The bastard's on a "special mission" right now but I'm sure he's already in deep shit."

Draco took off running. He knew the general area where Blade had gone on his scouting mission and needed to get there fast.

He heard the fighting before he saw it and followed the sounds to the most gruesome scene he had seen since abandoning the Death Eaters. There were three dead boys on the ground, their throats cut out. Four other boys held Blade in place. His back was pressed against a wall and a deadly snarl was fixed on his face. But what made Draco hiss was the fifth man standing in front of Blade with a long dagger in his hands aimed right for Blade's chest.

The knife began to fall and Draco took a running leap into the air. He came down hard on the knife holder's shoulders and without a thought, twisted the man's head until he heard the snap of his neck.

There was a roar as the fight began in earnest and the streets finally got to see the full power of the Dragon's Strike unleashed.

The fight ended with only Draco and Blade left alive. Blade was in bad shape and Draco was exhausted from taking on so many. They leaned on each other as they hobbled out of the alley. They were in the middle of the street, a few blocks away from Draco's rooms, when a shot sounded and a bullet just missed Draco's ear.

Draco swore and dropped Blade. He did not have the energy to dodge bullets or even to take on another assassin. But if he did not do something quickly the sniper would kill both of them, just like Skull wanted.

Without really thinking about it Draco reached into his bag and pulled out the one weapon he had not touched in over two years. His wand came to his hand like an old friend and he soon had the assassin obliviated and on his way back to his master. Another quick swish of his wand had Blade floating behind Draco and, once they were safely ensconced in Draco's room, a couple healing spells saved Blade's failing life.

Draco slid his wand back into his bag before collapsing into a chair and falling asleep.

Draco woke to hear a mumbled, "what happened?" from the bed. He looked up and saw Blade slowly sitting up while grimacing and rubbing his head.

"I saved your bloody life, that's what happened," Draco grumbled.

"Thanks for that." Blade threw Draco an awkward smile. "What I want to know is how those bastards knew exactly where I was going to be. They were waiting for me when I turned into the alley."

Draco scowled and glared at the bedspread. "That's because Skull hired them. He wanted to get rid of both you and me."

"And you know this how…?"

"I overheard it this morning when I was going to give Skull your report. He knows how strong we are and wanted to secure his power base." Draco answered with an angry shrug.

Blade sighed. "I guess this means we have to retaliate?"

Draco shot him an incredulous look. "What do you mean 'I guess'? Of course we do. In fact, I think you should take on Skull for the leadership."

"I don't want to lead the Dragons. I'm content doing the dirty work of someone else." Blade ran a hand through his hair and grimaced as dried blood flakes fell around his shoulders. "I know, Draco, we can't let Skull get away with this. I agree with you that Skull needs to be taken down. Why don't you do it? You're more than strong enough, stronger than me probably. I'll stay as second in command."

Draco snarled and slammed his fist into the wall. "You know why I can't. I'm on the run, remember? When you found me I had just escaped my own death. If they find me I'm going to need to run again. That means I cannot have a cemented position in the gang's hierarchy. If you take control we both get what we want; Skull gone."

Blade looked up at Draco, sighed, and then nodded. "First I think I'm going to take a shower. Then we can challenge Skull."


	4. Chapter 4

Red Dragons

Chapter Four

By Mell8

--------------------

Present:

Draco carried Ginny out of the bar and down the street. He ignored her struggles and the foot that kept kicking his thigh. Finally they arrived at his flat and Draco pushed the door open and shut with one foot. He unceremoniously dropped the girl on his bed and had to jump quickly back when she snarled and lunged at him. He caught her arms and gently pushed her back down on the bed.

When she did not move this time Draco turned and walked into the kitchen. He pulled out some frozen dinners from the freezer and popped them into the microwave, perfectly aware that she was studying his back as if he were a new species of human.

When the microwave beeped he took the food to his small table, dropped one meal at the opposite place setting, and sat down across from the empty chair to eat.

He was halfway done before the girl tentatively sat across from him. She looked up at him quizzically before picking up a fork and poking at the processed food.

"It won't kill you, Weasley," Draco grumbled and returned to ignoring her in favor of staring at his meal.

She took a small bite of what Draco thought might be pasta, (you never could be sure with Muggle food) grimaced, but still ate everything.

Draco waited until she finished and when she put her fork down he fixed her with his glare.

"What are you doing here Weasley?" He tried to keep the growl out of his voice but failed. She was intruding on his home and his sense of safety. It was very possible that the rest of her little friends were right behind her and once they caught up with Ginny he would be forced to find somewhere else to hide. The Dragons had been his home for nearly ten years and truthfully, Draco did not want to leave.

She turned her head to the side and fiddled with her fork anxiously. Draco tilted his chair onto the back legs and stared at her expectantly.

Ginny sighed and dropped her head. "I was looking for my daughter," she mumbled so quietly that Draco almost did not hear her.

His chair dropped down onto four legs and his mouth opened in shock. This was the last thing he expected her to say. Weasley had a daughter and she had somehow managed to lose the girl in the middle of gang territory. It was so irresponsible that he almost laughed, but the tears brimming in Ginny's eyes made him pause and think.

"It's Potters' right? Why isn't he helping you look for the girl? You should not be walking around these streets by yourself."

"My child is not Harry's. He's a happy bachelor living his life playing Quidditch and reaping the benefits of killing Voldemort." She scowled and Draco could see that was an old sore spot.

He opened his mouth to make a snide remark about her being ignored by Potter yet again but he forwent such pleasures to ask the more pressing question.

"Then whose child is it?"

"I don't know," she sniffled. "Oh! Why do I have to tell you all of this?" she ranted angrily. "You were probably there with your Death Eater buddies, laughing as they put me under the Imperious Curse and passed me around." A tear rolled down her cheek but her voice stayed strong. "For all I know she could be your daughter!"

"How old is your girl?" a voice asked from the doorway. Ginny gasped and spun around. Blade was leaning casually in the doorway, but his annoyed gaze was fixed on Ginny.

"Five," she whispered.

"Then she can't be Dragon's. Five years ago he was here working for me." Blade said as he took a seat on the kitchen counter.

Ginny just sighed. "You expect me to believe that Draco Malfoy, son of Voldemort's most influential Death Eater, has been here instead of fighting against all that is good in the world?"

"Well, I don't understand anything that you're telling me but I will say that Draco has been here for, oh… has it been ten years Dragon?"

"I was planning on getting my tenth earring next week," Draco said with a small nod.

"So, ten years, and the first two he was working with me everyday and then we took over this organization and it took another three and a half years before our positions were stable enough to allow personal side trips. This means he couldn't be off hurting you because he was busy here five years ago."

"Malfoy, you're living with Muggles?" Ginny gasped.

"No Weasley, I'm hiding with the rest of our kind where everyone knows who I am and what I've done," Draco quipped sarcastically. "I would have been captured in a week if I had stayed in our world."

Ginny snorted. "This is hilarious. The great Draco Malfoy, heir to the pureblooded Malfoy fortune and self-professed Muggle hater has been hiding for ten years with Muggles." Ginny collapsed into giggles but sobered quickly when Blade spoke.

"Are you lot aliens or something because all of this talk about other worlds, Muggles, and Death Eaters has me a little confused." Blade glared at Draco.

Ginny gulped and Draco sighed. "Listen, Blade…this has to do with my past and-"

"-and you never talk about your past," Blade snarled. "Now you listen Draco. I have spent the past ten years wondering where the Hell you came from. When you first showed up you did not even know what a microwave was, or anything technological for that matter. It was like you came from another world where scientific advances are frowned upon. Now you have another person from your "world" here and it's almost as if you're speaking in another language, so excuse me for wanting some answers."

Draco sighed and Ginny had her eyes pinched closed in worry.

"We could always have the Ministry in here and have him obliviated," Ginny said to Draco.

"You're forgetting that the Ministry wants to capture me and throw me in Azkaban."

Blade slammed his hands down on the table and Draco and Ginny jumped and turned to stare guiltily at him.

"Explain. Now."

Draco reached into his bag and pulled out two wands. He tossed Ginny hers and held his own loosely in his hand.

"Blade, I'm a Wizard, she's a Witch. We don't need science because magic takes care of everything and our world is separate so Muggles, err, non-magical people, don't find out and try to kill all of us again."

Blade started laughing spitefully while glaring at the two with anger shining in his eyes. "You expect me to believe that load of tripe? Tell me the truth." Blade pulled out one of his favorite blades and gripped it tightly.

Draco just lifted his wand and summoned the knife from Blade's hand. He sent the weapon swooping around the room a few times and dropped it gently back into Blade's slack hand. His face was so shocked it was comical but neither Ginny nor Draco laughed. They sat quietly for a few minutes waiting patiently for Blade to recover himself.

After a while Blade closed his eyes and shook his head. "That explains…" He looked at Draco. "That day Skull tried to have us assassinated, how badly was I really hurt? I was sure I had broken my arm at least but when I woke up all I had were bruises."

"You were dying." Draco said quietly without looking up from the floor. "A broken arm, shattered knee, busted ribs, severe internal and external bleeding. Without magic to heal you, you would not have survived an hour."

"Oh Merlin!" Ginny gasped. "How long was I unconscious? My baby girl is still out there!" Tears gathered in her eyes and fell unheeded down her cheeks.

Blade came back to himself with an almost audible snap. So, yes, maybe magic existed and yes, it was very possible that the girl sitting in front of him could control it, but right now all Blade could see was a worried mother. He stood up and stalked over to the door, feeling Draco's eyes on his back the entire time. He stopped in the doorway and grinned roguishly at the other two occupants in the room.

"Well what are we waiting around here for? Let's go get the Dragons together. We've got a kid to find!"

Draco grinned back but he could not help showing how relieved he was. Ginny broke into fresh tears.

III

"So we're searching for a five year old girl with red hair, brown eyes, and too many freckles, exactly like her mother," Draco called into the assembled crowd of nearly every single Dragon.

"I want you to get into groups of five or six. Search every nook and cranny in the entire city. Yes," Blade said with a small smile, "I am saying to go into other territories. I want this little girl found!"

"What's her name, Ginny?" Draco asked quietly.

"Her name is Rayven, Ray for short," Ginny answered.

Draco lifted an eyebrow but turned back to the gang. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get going."

There were some grumbles but most of the gang left without question. The only people left were Andrew and his small band of followers. Draco almost groaned aloud. Andrew had joined the Dragons a year after Blade had taken over from Skull and had almost immediately started dissent among the ranks. He had become strong enough to take second in command but only because Draco refused to officially take such a high level position. Truthfully, everyone knew Draco held the position and that Andrew was second in name only.

"So while we're out there bustin' our asses this girl is gonna sit here and twiddle her thumbs?" Andrew hissed. "Why do we have to do somethin' for someone else?"

"First, because I said so," Blade snarled, "and second, Ginny is going to be out searching as well."

"By herself?" Andrew laughed. "Last time she was by herself we had to rescue her from Adders."

"She won't be by herself," Draco hissed dangerously. "She'll be with me." Andrew blanched but pulled his scowl back on a moment later.

"And our industrious leader is doing what?" Andrew asked with a cold smirk towards Blade.

"I'm going to be talking to the leaders of some rival gangs about finding the little girl," Blade said.

Andrew sniffed but Draco could see the respect in his eyes. Very few people had enough backbone to actually talk with other gang leaders. It was just as possible that the other gang would attack instead of talk. Blade would be doing the most dangerous job tonight.

Andrew left and Draco grabbed Ginny's hand and led her out into the streets.

"I thought we were supposed to be out in larger groups," Ginny asked with a fearful look into the dark alleys nearby.

"Everyone else is," Draco nodded, "but I'm strong enough to take the place of four Muggles."

"Oh," Ginny said with a blush. They continued walking in silence occasionally calling out Rayven's name.

Finally Draco grew bored of walking aimlessly. "Will you tell me what I missed?" he asked tentatively. "I don't even get a paper here so I have no idea what's been going on back home."

Ginny looked up at him for a moment as if assessing the truth of his statement before shrugging.

"Well, Harry defeated Voldemort about four, nearly five years ago. It was a huge battle but I missed it. I had been captured two years prior and was in prison during the battle."

"What happened?" Draco asked quietly.

Ginny sighed and shook her head. "Mostly I was stupid. I was in Diagon Alley even though I knew it was dangerous. The next thing I know I'm in a cell in a Death Eater dungeon." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I was alone in my cell for what felt like months but was probably only a few weeks. One day the door to my cell flies open and I think 'the Order has finally come to save me'." She laughed coldly. "It was a man in a Death Eater mask. He points his wand at me, hits me with the Imperious, and I wake up naked and abused back in my cell. You see, I was entertainment for the Death Eaters; pureblooded so it was okay for them to be touching me. This kept up for a long time, I don't really know how long, but finally they stopped summoning me. My guess is that the war began to heat up and they didn't have time for entertainment any longer." There were tears running down her cheeks and Draco was amazed that she could even bear to talk about her experience.

"So I'm alone in my cell again and suddenly I notice that even though I barely have enough food to survive on, my stomach is getting bigger. It took me a long time to realize that I wasn't getting fat but that I was pregnant.

"I had the baby in that cell, by myself, screaming bloody murder. When I could finally see straight again I saw a ray of sunlight shine through the high bars in the window. So I decided to name her Ray. Ray for the sunlight and Rayven for the darkness she was conceived with. My brother Charlie is the one who opened my cell door and freed me. He found me, still covered in my own blood from giving birth months ago, cradling my small child to my chest."

Draco stopped walking, grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into his arms. She froze for a second but soon relaxed and sobbed helplessly. Draco murmured quiet nothings in her ear and slowly she began to calm down. Ginny was hiccupping quietly when his pocket began to buzz. She jumped back and Draco laughed at the expression on her face.

"Relax," he smiled. "It's just a Muggle phone."

He pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open. Seconds later his face darkened and he growled angrily.

"We found her." He said as he shut the phone. Before her face could brighten too much he added, "and they're not letting her go."

Ginny's eyes widened and more tears flowed down her face but Draco watched her face harden just as quickly. This woman was committed to getting her baby back and he could tell that whoever was standing in the way would get hurt.

"Come on, Blade's already there."


	5. Chapter 5

Red Dragons

Chapter Five

By Mell8

------------------

Present:

The meeting place was in neutral territory at an abandoned storefront. It was teeming with so many different gang members that small fights were breaking out everywhere. Draco had already been forced to extricate Ginny from the attentions of a drunk Cobra.

There was a man standing at the door playing bouncer to all the eager gang brats who wanted entrance into the important goings on inside. He had a tattoo of crossed bones on his forehead. Draco grimaced but pulled Ginny up to him anyway.

The man belonged to a gang called Angry Bones. They thought it was hilarious that they had tattoos of crossed bones as their gang sign because they used _cross_ as a synonym for angry. Draco thought the entire organization was crazy.

"Who're you?" The man looked Ginny up and down and leered lustfully at her breasts.

"I'm bringing the aggrieved party inside," Draco said formally.

The man sneered. "The pretty girl can always stay out here with me." He reached out a hand towards Ginny's hips and Draco flashed a hand out and caught his wrist in a tight, bone-grinding grip. The man hissed but pulled back anyway.

"What's your purpose 'ere?" the man finally ground out.

"I'm the lady's guard for the night. I'm to make sure that she comes to no harm." Draco's smile was as cold as ice.

"Fine, enter," the man snarled. "But if I find you played me…" He left the threat unspoken and Draco pushed past him.

"Draco, what was that about?" Ginny asked quietly.

"The Angry Bones gang has your daughter and they want something from the Dragons for her return," Draco answered. He did not elaborate and almost ignored Ginny's next question.

"What do they want?"

Draco sighed. "A couple of years ago Dragon's Strike took down the second, third, and fourth command in Bones for nothing but a whim. My guess is they think this is perfect for revenge. Blade is probably incapacitated and I'm sure the guard back at the door has orders not to allow any influential Dragons into the building. That means that I'm not supposed to be here and Andrew, our real second, is not going to make it either. It's going to be an interesting night."

They walked into the room and Ginny gasped. All along the walls were gang members and they were all prepared for a fight. It took Draco a moment but he finally located Blade near the center of the room. When they finished pushing through the crowd and got to Blade the leader of Angry Bones was standing up asking for quiet.

Blade was pale and slightly green. "Broken collarbone," he gasped out before closing his mouth tightly against the nausea.

Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair. That meant the entire ordeal was up to him.

"Bring out the brat," Bones snarled. A screaming girl was brought through the swarm and Ginny screamed at the sight.

"Ray!" She pushed away from Draco to run to her daughter but Draco grabbed her shoulders to forestall a foolish attempt.

"Wait," he hissed in Ginny's ear. "We'll get her but you have to be patient." Ginny sobbed but nodded to show her understanding.

"Mamma? Mamma! Mamma!"

Draco watched, horrified, as the tiny red headed girl caught sight of her mother and began to struggle in earnest against her captors.

"It's okay Ray," Ginny called out over her child's screams. "I'm coming to get you. Just be a good girl."

Bones laughed. "The only way to get her is to follow up on Dragon's claim." He smirked widely. "Blade says that there is a Dragon who can take me on and defeat me," he laughed again. "Now, the only people who should be strong enough to fulfill that boast are part of Dragon command. I believe that broken collarbone of yours prevents you from fighting Blade; yet, I do not see your second or third present. In fact, the only other Dragon I see is the weak bodied boy clutching to our dear mother." He pointed towards Draco. "It seems the Dragons are unable to follow what their mouths spit out with their fists."

The assemblage laughed and Draco could already hear plans being laid to take out the Dragons in their time of weakness.

"Now, I won't have it said that I'm a terrible friend to my fellow gang leaders. I want to be generous and give Blade one chance to redeem his gang's honor." He turned to face the entire throng. "Is there anyone present, anyone in any other gang or even unaffiliated with a gang, who will step up to take the place of our missing Dragons?"

"That's my cue," Draco said loudly.

Bones turned to look at Draco and his lip curled. "You? You're nothing but a runt. I'll have you skinned before you even try to throw your first wussy punch. Besides," Bones said as his eyes focused on Draco's left ear, "I said any other gang aside from the Dragons. That means you don't fit the parameters."

Draco sighed and turned to Blade. "Sorry mate but it seems like it's time to go my own way. I was going to have to leave soon after this anyway; find a new place to hide you know." Blade nodded painfully.

Draco smiled sadly at his only friend before turning back to face Bones. With a steady hand he reached out and unhooked the dragon earring in his left ear. It glimmered in the bright halogen lights and Draco thought it looked almost eager for it's new place. The earring was still as sharp as the day it first pierced his ear and now it was time to move on.

Draco's face never flinched as he pushed the earring through his right ear; his tenth piercing for his ten years in hiding.

"See," Draco said with a cold smile. "I'm not a Dragon any longer." He stepped forward into the empty space and Bones strode out to meet him.

"If I win you will let the girl and her mother go free without any issues and you will leave the Dragons alone," Draco said calmly.

"And if I win, which is looking promising, I get the mother and the child as my own and both you and Blade become my errand boys," Bones snarled back.

Draco nodded and let a cruel smile light his face. "So, just so I know what I'm up against," he stared up at the huge man, "what's your gang name?"

"I am The Bone Crusher. I never leave a bone unbroken." He laughed as if he expected Draco to be worried by such an admission.

Draco just continued smiling. "Well, when I was with the Dragons I was called Dragon's Strike. I'm sure you've heard of me," Draco began with a smirk. Bones stopped laughing immediately. "But now that I'm unaffiliated I guess you can call me…" He cast around for a name and he saw Ray's red hair. "Red's Salvation."

"Even better," Bones hissed. "Now I can get you back for killing my brother with that stunt you pulled."

Draco laughed. "Your brother is the one who ordered my death after receiving a hefty sum from Skull. Surely you did not think I would leave someone as dangerous to me as your brother around to attempt to assassinate me and mine again."

Bones roared and rushed forward. Draco sidestepped and used the man's momentum against him to send him sprawling on the floor. Bones stood up and ran again but faked to the right and hit with his left foot. Draco dodged most but not the entire hit and winced as he felt the damage. The fight continued with them exchanging blows and soon it became a strength match rather than prowess. They took shots at each other and stopped evading oncoming hits.

Draco's nose was broken and blood was flowing in quick rivers down his face as his eyes swelled up and made it difficult to see. Bones had a broken wrist and a wrenched knee along with a myriad of other painful bruises. Both had their knuckles scrapped raw and bleeding. The match dragged on for long minutes and it soon became apparent that the man with better endurance would win.

There was a loud bang and suddenly the back wall of the building crumbled. Screams echoed through the room as the wreckage began to float out of the way by itself. All of the people present rushed to escape from the room and soon only Ginny, Blade, and the men holding Ray were present. Draco and Bones continued to fight, oblivious to the oncoming trouble.

"Ginny!"

Ginny blanched and slowly turned to face the figures walking through the debris. It was difficult to tear her eyes away from the fight but the person calling her would not be deterred.

"Potter," Ginny drawled in a good impression of Draco even though she had only been around him for a few hours. "Care to explain what you're doing here?" she asked with an angry scowl.

"You disappeared Ginny. Your parents are worried about you and Ray so I offered to lead the Aurors to your rescue," Harry said with a self-satisfied smile on his face.

"What made you think I needed rescue?" Ginny asked quietly as she turned her back on Harry to continue watching the fight.

"What's going on?" Harry gasped when he saw the fight.

Ginny ran a hand through her frazzled hair. "The big man in the fight," she said pointing towards Bones, "kidnapped Ray. I went after him but got lost in the city. The smaller man," she said pointing toward Draco, "saved my life and freely offered to fight for my daughters freedom." She shrugged towards where Rayven was being held.

"Why didn't you use magic to free her?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Harry they're Muggles. We can't use magic around Muggles."

Ginny gasped as she saw Draco step into a puddle of his own blood. His foot slid out from under him and Bones used his advantage to slam Draco's head into the floor. Draco seemed dazed but was able to push the larger man off him and send Bones tumbling painfully to the floor. Ginny heard something crack and then the room went silent.

Slowly and painfully the victor stood up.

Draco turned to Ginny and flashed her a smile. His eyes caught on Harry and the smile vanished into one of fear.

That did not matter to Ginny right now. Draco had won which meant Ray was free. She turned to look for her daughter and screamed. One of the men holding Rayven was also holding a knife and the knife was quickly descending towards her screaming baby.

Ginny screamed, Harry swore and fumbled for his wand, Draco spun around and started running, but everyone was going to be too late.

There was an abrupt blur and Blade was suddenly there, head butting the bastard with the knife. He caught the blade with his good arm and sliced open the throats of both men holding Ray.

Draco arrived in time to catch his friend as the pain from his collarbone became too much and he fainted. Rayven screamed and ran towards her mother. Ginny cradled the girl in her arms and sobbed into her hair. Harry just stared, shocked at the amount of violence he had just witnessed in the last five minutes.

"Come on Ray, let's go get everyone fixed up and I can introduce you to the men who saved you," Ginny said with a smile for her daughter. Her wand was out and cleaning spells had already cleared the blood off both girls. Together they walked over to Draco and Blade.

"Fix Blade first," Draco mumbled thickly through his broken nose. Ginny nodded and quickly healed and cleaned Blade before turning her wand on Draco.

Harry walked up behind her and gasped as the last of the blood was finally cleared away.

"Malfoy?" Harry asked. "You're alive?"

"Hello, Potter," Draco said and then proceeded to ignore him. "Hello little girl," he said in a soft voice to Ray. "How are you?"

Ray gripped her mother's legs and peered out from behind her shelter at the man smiling nicely down at her. "Good," she whispered but she did not seem scared, only cautious. Ray slowly crept out from behind Ginny over to Draco. "Dwagon," she said, her small mouth making it difficult to pronounce the words, "Wed Dwagon." Then she climbed into his lap and buried her head in his chest.

"Draco Malfoy, you're under arrest for Death Eater activities and for aiding in the murder of Albus Dumbledore." A stiff Auror stood over Draco, wand outstretched, looking distinctly uncomfortable pointing his wand at a man gently cradling a child.

Draco carefully stood up, mindful of his newly healed injuries and the now sleeping baby. "I'm afraid she's attached," Draco said sheepishly.

The Auror's wand wavered and he gulped audibly.

"You can put that away you know," Draco said quietly. "I'm more than willing to go with you if only to have this whole ordeal ended." Draco slowly pried Ray's hands loose from his shirt and handed the girl back to her mother.

Blade walked over to Draco, a silver earring held in one hand. "Here Draco," Blade said as he held out the Dragon earring. Draco looked up and saw Blade's empty left ear. Before Draco could open his mouth and say no Blade plowed on. "I know that you have to go back to your world but it would be a shame to leave one hole empty," he said, gesturing to where Draco had removed his own Dragon earring. "Take it to remember me by," Blade blinked back sudden tears. "Just in case you get locked up in prison or something and can't come visit."

Draco took the earring and put it in his ear.

"After all this I'm still welcome here?" Draco laughed sadly.

"Yes, Draco. You may be my underling," they smiled at the familiar bridle, "but foremost, you are my friend. I hope you remember that."


	6. Chapter 6

Red Dragons

Chapter Six

By Mell8

-------------------

Present:

"What does the accused have to say for himself?" the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot asked. Frankly Draco was surprised he had even gotten a fair trial.

First a lot of people had spoken against him and his actions while in school and about the entire fiasco his sixth year. Then Ginny had spoken up in his defense telling the listeners exactly how he had sacrificed his body and very nearly sacrificed his life in order to save her daughter.

But Draco could see their faces and he knew that he was in trouble. All he had left was his own words and, somehow, he doubted anyone really wanted to listen to what he had to say.

He wanted to try anyway.

"To be completely honest," Draco started as he shifted around in his chair, trying to ignore the chains that bound him there. "I did not really want to do anything that I did my sixth year. But," he paused and took a deep breath, "they were going to kill my mother if I did not do as they said. Everything I did was under duress and blackmail. If I did not find a way to sneak Death Eaters into Hogwarts they would kill my Mum. If I did not kill Dumbledore they would kill my Mum. So, when I was standing on top of the tower, my wand out and pointed at a powerless Dumbledore all I could think about was my Mum. I was saving her life by ending another's. Was that truly any better? I had lowered my wand, I was going to let the old man go, when Snape ran up the stairs and killed the Headmaster right in front of my eyes. I could not do anything to stop it."

Draco looked around at the unresponsive faces of the jury that was going to convict him of being a Death Eater. "What do you want me to say?" Draco almost screamed. "I can't apologize for something I did not do and I can't say that I regret anything I did to save my mother's life. What would any of you do to save your loved ones?" He stared up at the uncomfortable jury.

"To use a recent example, look at Ginny. Her daughter was kidnapped and she willingly walked straight into dangerous territory and fought as hard as she could to get Rayven back. How is that any different from what I did?"

The Chief Warlock nodded and turned to the rest of the Wizengamot. They spent ten minutes discussing the case amongst themselves. The Chief opened his mouth to give what Draco was sure would be a guilty verdict when a scream shattered the silence of the courtroom.

Draco whipped his head up to look at Ginny but her eyes were focused elsewhere. He followed her gaze and saw what had made her scream. Rayven had slipped away from her mother and had climbed onto the top of the wall separating the spectator seats from the Wizengamot. The little girl was now attempting to climb down the wall, twenty feet above the floor. As Draco watched in horror the girl's hand slipped, then her foot, as she spun out into space and began to plummet towards the ground.

It was lucky that these flimsy chains, even magically enhanced ones, were not strong enough to hold Draco. He lunged forward and the chains snapped as he ran. Draco dove for the girl and just managed to clasp his arms around Ray before he slid onto the floor.

He quickly sat up and pulled the scared girl into his arms. He gently brushed his hand through her hair and rocked Ray until she stopped crying.

Finally the little girl looked up at Draco and smiled, wiping tears away from her red-rimmed eyes.

"Wed Dwagon!" she squealed. She jumped up onto her feet with one foot on each of his thighs and gripped the front of Draco's shirt in her tiny hands. "Dwagon, will you be my Daddy?" she asked into the hushed room, her voice reverberating around the now dead silent chamber.

He looked at her in shock before wrapping his arms around her small frame and bursting into laughter. High above, Draco heard Ginny echoing his mirth although she sounded slightly embarrassed as well.

Draco stood up with Rayven still in his arms and turned to face the surprised Wizengamot.

"Sorry about the chains," he shrugged sheepishly.

Ray snuggled her head under his chin and smiled sleepily up at her audience. "Will you let Dwagon be my Daddy?" she asked the Wizengamot. Somehow her young mind had grasped the fact that this was a place where important things were decided. What could be more a more important decision than agreeing that Dwagon could be her father?

As one the jury returned to deliberating but Draco could see a difference in their faces as they discussed what they had just seen. In fact, if Draco was reading the circumstances correctly, it was very possible that little Rayven had saved his life with her childish display of affection.

Ray had long since fallen asleep in his arms by the time they came to a decision. The Chief Warlock stood up and addressed Draco.

"After long deliberation the Wizengamot has come to the decision that the accused is guilty," he held up his hand to forestall arguments, "of violent acts while still an underage wizard. While as a child he cannot be held responsible for his actions, he must face them now as an adult. Therefore, it is the will of the Wizengamot to sentence Draco Malfoy to two months in a minimum-security prison and ten months performing community service while under constant Auror watch. If no other issues arise during those twelve months, Draco Malfoy will have all of his property and money returned as the rightful heir to the Malfoy fortune and will be free of all future Death Eater related charges."

Draco waited outside the doors to the courtroom, Ray still in his arms and two Aurors standing next to him as guards. Ginny came running around the corner and quickly stopped short and bent over to catch her breath.

As she took Rayven back from Draco her hands may have lingered a little too long on his and his eyes may have stayed focused on hers longer than necessary, but their thoughts remained unspoken.

He smiled once at Ginny as he turned to follow the Aurors to his home for the next two months.


	7. Epilogue

Red Dragons

Epilogue

By Mell8

-----------------

One Year Later-

It was like déjà vu.

He was in an old abandoned warehouse and the fight was nearly over. Injured bodies littered the ground and the last combatants were letting their fists fly in bloody arcs. Blade was taking on three combatants in the center of the warehouse. His long knives were in his hands and every time he moved another slash opened on a body of the enemy.

The Dragons were losing, as usual.

Draco quickly stepped into the fray and smiled when he realized that he had not lost his touch in the last year.

Soon the fight was over, the Dragons winning thanks to Draco, and Blade was cautiously making his way over to Draco.

"You came back?" he breathed quietly. "It's been so long. I didn't know what to think."

"Yes well, I couldn't leave my best man out here fighting by himself now could I?" Draco smirked.

"Best man?" Blade asked and was startled by the blonde's dazzling smile. He turned around and saw two familiar red headed girls.

Ginny stood just outside the ring of downed bodies. There was a shiny ring on her finger and if Blade wasn't mistaken she had a Dragon earring in her left ear and a small post to balance it in her right.

The little girl, about six now if he remembered correctly, was carefully picking her way around the bloodstains and the moaning bodies. She had a teddy bear in her hands and was sucking on one unfortunate paw.

When Rayven reached them she gave Blade a happy little smile. "Dwagon agreed to be my Daddy!" She absentmindedly handed Blade her bear as she climbed onto Draco's leg.

Blade started laughing when he saw that the bear's left ear was pierced with Ray's imitation of a Dragon earring.

"So Red Dragon, I mean, Wed Dwagon," Blade said with a smile, clapping his friend on the back. "When's the wedding?"

III

A.N.

Thanks to everyone who enjoyed and/or reviewed the edited version of Red Dragons! One day I'll give this story the overhaul it needs to get rid of the cliché and the severe one-dimensionality, but for now I think having proper grammar is a good start.

Maybe over winter break I'll be able to take time to get back to those stories you're all really waiting for. For now, enjoy this.

Mell8


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